Dictionary

probative en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈproʊ.bə.tɪv/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English probatiffe, from Old French probatif, from Latin probātīvus (“belonging to proof”), from Latin probare (“show, prove, demonstrate”) (See prove). Originally in terme probatiffe (“a period of time assigned for the proving of an allegation”). First attested in the mid-15th century.

Meanings

1. (formal) Tending to prove a particular proposition or to persuade someone of the truth of an allegation.
   • The judge had granted the DA a one-week extension with the caustic admonition that the case would be summarily dismissed if at that time probative, as opposed to prejudicial, evidence was not produced. 1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 109:
   • My grandfather in person organized the file with a surfeit of sworn testimonies and probative documents […] 2003, Gabriel García Márquez, chapter 2, in Edith Grossman, transl., Living to Tell the Tale:

Forms

Antonyms

disprobative · prejudicial

Deriveds

nonprobative · probativeness · probatively

Translations (10)

hy ապացուցողական (tending to prove a particular proposition) · fi todistusvoimainen (tending to prove a particular proposition) · el αποδεικτικός (tending to prove a particular proposition) · cmn 有證明力的 /有证明力的 (tending to prove a particular proposition) · de beweiskräftig (tending to prove a particular proposition) · ru доказа́тельный (tending to prove a particular proposition) · bg доказателствен (tending to prove a particular proposition) · sv beviskraftig (tending to prove a particular proposition) · hu bizonyító erejű (tending to prove a particular proposition) · uk доказо́вий (tending to prove a particular proposition)